Analysis of Life

Henry Nkanu 1984 (Calabar)



To live and die is life
To have and hold
Is to be alive and die
We were here
Before life began
And will be gone
Before it's done
Long gone
Our days here
So very fleeting
Are but beautiful vapours
Just morning dew
At best a minute's silence
When the living meet
To be remembered like nothing
Life's truly a mystery
A mind blowing mystery
Lived at extreme ends
The young admires the aged
The old desires the life of the young
So we fight nature to alter life

We didn't bargain here to be
Why desperately hang on here?
This path only once to travel
This song only once to sing
Travel good
And sing your best
When it's done and you're gone
Only memories
As reminders of your Earth's journey
If you came quietly
Exit with a bang
If loud
Leave quietly
Lest you're too soon forgotten
But live while you have it
Like a warrior with sweats and tears
And victorious shouts of joy and pain
Live this life like a badge of honour
It's all we have on this side of existence!
For to have and to hold
Is life!  


Scheme ABXCXDEDCFGXGXFHHGXXA HCXFXXDGHHXXHEXGXCGBA
Poetic Form
Metre 110111 1101 1110101 101 01101 0111 0111 11 1011 11010 111001 1101 1101010 10101 11010110 1100100 0110100 11011 010101 0101001101 111101101 11010111 11000111 11101110 1110111 101 0111 111011 10100 101011110 111100 10101 11 1100 1111010 111111 101001101 0010011101 11110111 11111111010 111011 11
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 1,008
Words 204
Sentences 4
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 21, 21
Lines Amount 42
Letters per line (avg) 19
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 394
Words per stanza (avg) 98

About this poem

My musing on life and living.

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Written on August 16, 2022

Submitted by princehenrynkanu on September 28, 2022

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:03 min read
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Henry Nkanu

Life coach. Mentor. Writer and Critic. more…

All Henry Nkanu poems | Henry Nkanu Books

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